Over-rated / Under-rated shows

[Smeelia]

I haven't watched Saikano and I suspect I probably won't because I don't think I'd enjoy it. I don't think the fact that it's downbeat would be a huge problem itself (although I do tend to prefer stories with a positive note) but I think the type of drama involved puts me off a bit as well. I've found the discussions about it interesting but I think that's enough for me. I do have a copy floating around somewhere though so maybe I'll randomly try it one day (maybe when I've forgotten what it is and then I'll regret putting it on).

It might be because ANN was talking about it at around the same time but for some reason talking about Saikano reminds me of Haibane Renmei. The other possible connection is that Haibane Renmei apparently has bad art (I actually didn't think it was as bas as I've heard others describe it but I'm not the most perceptive person).

I don't know if Haibane Renmei counts as underrated since it does seem to have fans but I think it sometimes gets overlooked. It's one of those shows that lures you into thinking it's just a nice slice of life show and then... Well it kind of is a nice slice of life show throughout but there's some really good emotion and drama, especially in the later episodes. It deals with themes such as loss, family, friendship and so on in a fairly well considered way. I think it strikes a pretty good balance between dealing with darker issues and also finding positives. It may be a little lighter in the beginning but I think that helps develop the characters to make what comes later have more impact. The pacing might be a bit slow for some, you may need at least some tolerance for "cute girls doing cute things" and you should probably also pay attention since you could completely miss the hints of larger issues in the early episodes. It does let you draw your own conclusions on some things but it never feels like it's being vague out of laziness and it generally gives you plenty to work with. I think it's a pretty solid story with a nice mix of mystery and philosophy.

I'm not entirely sure that Haibane Renmei counts as slice of life since it does have something of an ongoing story but then it is also kind of an insight into part of the lives of a group of people so maybe it'd get by on that. It's also not really set in the real-world (or is it?) but I don't think that's a barrier to being slice of life. I should probably have mentioned it in the Slice of Life thread.

 

[Gavrev]

That's a series I've wanted to see - it's on my list, and seems quite similar, but yes it also sounds a tad lighter..

 

[ayase]

The other possible connection is that Haibane Renmei apparently has bad art (I actually didn't think it was as bas as I've heard others describe it but I'm not the most perceptive person).

ABe character designs? That lovely muted colour palette? Bad art?

To quote Withnail, "What f****r said that?" For a TV production from the early twenty-hundreds Haibane looks positively great, and does the best job it was probably able to do of bringing ABe's style to life. The only bad thing I can say about it (quite literally the only bad thing, I love the show) is that it's unfortunate it was produced digitally in standard definition at that awkward time when that was the norm so it can never really look much better in HD. The caps I've seen of the upscaled Japanese Blu-ray look absolutely awful.

It has slice-of-lifey elements and is for some of its runtime quite a laid-back experience, almost dreamlike at times. But at the risk of starting to sound like the slice-of-life police, I'd still be wary to classify it as such given that several characters do follow quite important personal story arcs. I'd probably call it more of a drama / mystery. I think you're probably right to mention it Smeelia, as even though it has its fans it is perhaps being forgotten these days.

 

[qaiz]

Yeah a lot of shows from that period suffered from being made in SD and thus ending up looking worse on Blu-ray, because the artwork itself for the series look gorgeous, including the character designs etc, the series itself just looks a bit boring for me (says the guy who loves Texhnolyze lol )

 

[Smeelia]

That's a series I've wanted to see - it's on my list, and seems quite similar, but yes it also sounds a tad lighter..

I'd be tempted to say more than a tad but thinking about it maybe that's about right. It may not be set during a massive war but on a personal level there's some pretty strong stuff. As I understand it, the personal stories are more important in Saikano too really.

ABe character designs? That lovely muted colour palette? Bad art?

To quote Withnail, "What f****r said that?" For a TV production from the early twenty-hundreds Haibane looks positively great, and does the best job it was probably able to do of bringing ABe's style to life. The only bad thing I can say about it (quite literally the only bad thing, I love the show) is that it's unfortunate it was produced digitally in standard definition at that awkward time when that was the norm so it can never really look much better in HD. The caps I've seen of the upscaled Japanese Blu-ray look absolutely awful.

It has slice-of-lifey elements and is for some of its runtime quite a laid-back experience, almost dreamlike at times. But at the risk of starting to sound like the slice-of-life police, I'd still be wary to classify it as such given that several characters do follow quite important personal story arcs. I'd probably call it more of a drama / mystery. I think you're probably right to mention it Smeelia, as even though it has its fans it is perhaps being forgotten these days.

So it wasn't just me that liked the art then. It might be kind of cool to see an HD remake but then it could also go horribly wrong.

I'd go along with calling it drama/mystery. It does seem like it could be a slice of life show at the start but then it gradually plays it's hand (although I suppose there are even hints right from the start that there's more going on).

Yeah a lot of shows from that period suffered from being made in SD and thus ending up looking worse on Blu-ray, because the artwork itself for the series look gorgeous, including the character designs etc, the series itself just looks a bit boring for me (says the guy who loves Texhnolyze lol )

I think the biggest barrier to entry for Haibane Renmei is that it takes something like five episodes before it makes it totally clear that it's not just a light fun show. There are certainly hints throughout but it seems that quite a few people either don't notice or just assume that it'll stay light throughout with the hints being just for "flavour" or something. Even if you ultimately really like the later parts it's a lot to ask of someone to go through the early episodes if they aren't enjoying them (even the four episode rule probably wouldn't be enough here). As I said earlier though, I think the first part complements later events really well and the show probably wouldn't work as well without it. It's tough to judge if someone would like Haibane Renmei or not because there really aren't too many shows quite like it. If you're a fan of Mushi-shi, Kino's Journey and the like then that's probably a good start (though I wouldn't say it's quite the same as them either).